How does IT Occupational Culture Affect Knowledge Sharing in Organizations?

In this study, we investigate the relationship between the occupational culture of information technology (IT) personnel and knowledge sharing in organizations. We suggest that some elements of IT occupational culture affect knowledge sharing among IT personnel and business end users. Drawing on cultural psychology, we present one possible approach through which IT occupational culture manifests through six elements of organizational structure (i.e., stories, symbols, power structures, control systems, and rituals and routines) and affects the knowledge-sharing process. In doing so, we better understand behaviors related to knowledge sharing and IT diffusion in organizations beyond the limitations of previous IT-diffusion studies.